Debugging the defroster...

So, I love the hard top, more headroom, lots more rear visibility,
quieter, car seems to sawm up inside faster and stay warm easier, and
the radio is a lot easier to hear.

However, the onlt way to clear the condensation off the rear window is
with the dash vents set to hot/high and aimed at the rear window.
Luckily, it clears off fast, but not fast enough for me to see
anything behind me for the first five-ten minutes of driving.

The hardtop is oem, has a rear window defogger built in, it's plugged
in, and the light on the dash comes on when I hit the defog button,
and turns off when I press it a second time. However, the
defogger.... doesn't.

So, I'm going to check for 12v at the car side of the connecter when
the switch is on; and if I don't get it, follow that up ... at the
fusebox, first, I guess. If I have 12v with the switch on, I'll check
the resistance on the window side of the connector, and I'm looking
for a connection (not open) but with pretty high resistance, right?
It's the sesistance that heats the grid and should clear the window,
iirc. Anyown know what the correct resistance is? And if it's open,
I need to look for breaks/cuts in the grid, right? Anyone ever fixed
one of those with that "metallic paint" or what would you suggest?

Thanks!

Tim

Tim M. > wrote:

> So, I love the hard top, more headroom, lots more rear visibility,
> quieter, car seems to sawm up inside faster and stay warm easier, and
> the radio is a lot easier to hear.
>
> However, the onlt way to clear the condensation off the rear window is
> with the dash vents set to hot/high and aimed at the rear window.
> Luckily, it clears off fast, but not fast enough for me to see
> anything behind me for the first five-ten minutes of driving.
>
> The hardtop is oem, has a rear window defogger built in, it's plugged
> in, and the light on the dash comes on when I hit the defog button,
> and turns off when I press it a second time. However, the
> defogger.... doesn't.
>
> So, I'm going to check for 12v at the car side of the connecter when
> the switch is on; and if I don't get it, follow that up ... at the
> fusebox, first, I guess. If I have 12v with the switch on, I'll check
> the resistance on the window side of the connector, and I'm looking
> for a connection (not open) but with pretty high resistance, right?
> It's the sesistance that heats the grid and should clear the window,
> iirc. Anyown know what the correct resistance is? And if it's open,
> I need to look for breaks/cuts in the grid, right? Anyone ever fixed
> one of those with that "metallic paint" or what would you suggest?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Tim

There's a relay in the boot (trunk) near the aerial, so the load from
the switch won't be high. Applies to the NA, not sure whether this is
also true for NB+

I've not got the HRW hooked up on mine - there's no dashboard switch,
and the place for the switch is occupied by a flashing LED from the
immobiliser.

I find a quick wipe with a microfibre cloth before setting out seems to
keep it clear until the heater/blower warms up.


--
Rob - Shropshire
So many cats,
So few recipes...